Paddlers, Promises & Poison

Title: Paddlers, Promises & Poison
Author: Tonya Kappes
Published: March 25, 2021 by Tonya Kappes Books
Format: Audio 188 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Series: Camper & Criminals #16

Blurb: Realtor Chelsea O’Connell is found dead in a model home of the new development in Normal. She was not popular in the small tourist town located in the Daniel Boone National Park because the last thing this town wants is for more development to come in to take away anymore of the forest.

Detective Hank Sharp has his own hands full instead of worrying about his girlfriend Mae West and her nosey set of friend, The Laundry Club Ladies, now that he found out cuts are coming the Normal Sheriff’s department.

Rumors are swirling around about the Sheriff’s department doing some outsourcing and Hank’s job is one of them. Mae finds herself at a crossroads, does she put on her sleuthing cap to help out a friend who is the number one suspect on Hank’s list, or does she let Hank solve the murder by himself so he can prove how valuable his position is to the department?

My Opinion: This series has officially become my “drive to work” comfort listening. I don’t mean that in a dismissive way, but by book sixteen, you’re not here for introductions or elaborate character arcs. You already know the Laundry Club Ladies, you know Mae’s instincts are sharper than Hank’s badge, and you know there will be a body, a twist, and a whole lot of discourse.

At this point, the characters feel like real people I wave to on my commute. They’re lovable, familiar, and full of that easy camaraderie. The humor still lands, the southern quirks still charm, and the friendships remain the glue that keeps the whole thing warm and readable.

Tonya Kappes kicks things off with a new housing development going up in Daniel Boone National Park. Is that remotely plausible? Absolutely not. Did I shrug and roll with it anyway? Of course. Cozy mysteries thrive on improbable setups, and this one is just the spark to get the story moving.

Mae and the Laundry Club stumble upon realtor Chelsea O’Connell’s body in the model home, and suddenly we’re knee deep in sweet tea vs unsweetened tea debates. It’s funny at first, then repetitive, then, surprise, it’s actually a clue. With not much else to go on, the tea talk becomes the author’s main breadcrumb trail. Not the strongest plotting, but serviceable enough to keep the story afloat.

Meanwhile, Hank is… well, Hank. He spends most of the book fretting about his job, running in circles, and contributing very little to the investigation until he swoops in at the last possible moment. His bumbling has crossed from endearing to mildly irritating, especially when the Laundry Club Ladies are out there doing the actual work.

But even with the wobbly setup and the thin clue trail, the charm of Normal, Kentucky still pulls me in. The humor, the friendships, the southern rhythms; they’re the reason I keep coming back. And truly, there’s no need to start at book one. Kappes sprinkles past relationships and antics throughout each installment, so you can hop in wherever you like and still feel right at home.

Dead Before Tea Time

Title: Dead Before Tea Time
Author: R.W. Green writing for M.C. Beaton
Expected Publication Date: November 10, 2026, by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, 272 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Series: Agatha Raisin #37

Blurb: Agatha Raisin’s Cotswolds village is in an uproar when word spreads that their beloved Red Lion pub is set to close. The brewery that owns the building has raised the rent, ousting the pub’s owner so they can redevelop the space into apartments. As the villagers scramble to change the brewery’s mind, Agatha and her team at Raisin Investigations begin looking into more direct ways to save the pub.

Meanwhile, Sir Charles Fraith attempts to wheedle his way back into Agatha’s affection, crossing swords with James—Agatha’s other paramour—who is determined to thwart his efforts. As the two attempt to woo Agatha at a local reenactment of a 17th-century battle, Agatha has her sights set on something else. Amidst the chaos of the battle, a body is discovered in a copse of trees just off the battleground. While many brush off the death as an accident, Agatha digs deeper after discovering the dead man had connections to the same brewery putting the Red Lion out of business.

After an attempt is made on Agatha's life during a visit to the brewery, her investigation becomes all the more urgent. Can she find the murderer before becoming their next victim? And perhaps even more importantly for the village, can she find a way to save the Red Lion at the same time?

My Opinion: Either I’m finally settling into R.W. Green’s approach to the series, or he’s found a rhythm that feels much closer to M.C. Beaton’s original voice. After enjoying Sugar and Spite more than I expected, I went into Dead Before Tea Time with fairly high expectations, and for the most part, it delivered.

Green still has a habit that occasionally pulls me out of the story. Some paragraphs feel a touch overwritten, often ending with an extra sentence that explains something already obvious or adds a minor detail that doesn’t quite earn its place. It’s not a major flaw, but it's one of the few aspects of his writing that never quite sits right with me.

That said, the novel captures much of what makes the Agatha Raisin series enjoyable. For most of the book, readers are following the various cases handled by the Raisin Investigation Agency, creating that familiar sense of hopping from one mystery to another. Then, almost without warning, the final chapters shift gears and become delightfully reminiscent of both Columbo and classic Agatha Christie, complete with revelations, accusations, suspects gathered, and plenty of finger-pointing before the truth finally emerges.

The banter is sharp, the humor lands well, and the pacing keeps things moving. This is an amateur sleuth series, so I’m not necessarily looking for profound character studies or great emotional depth. Still, moments of deeper substance beneath the surface would make the mysteries and relationships even more satisfying.

In the end, though, the biggest strength of this series may be the characters themselves. Agatha has become one of those literary companions I genuinely enjoy checking in on, and the same goes for Mrs. Bloxby and Toni. At this point, spending time with them is as much a reason to keep reading as the mysteries. That sense of familiarity and comfort goes a long way, and Dead Before Tea Time is another enjoyable visit to Carsely.

The French Illusion

Title: The French Illusion
Author: John Grisham
Published: September 29, 2026 by Doubleday
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
Genre: Thriller

Blurb: After Paul and Chelsea Tanner’s fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would target them, and why? It turns out this is not the first crime of its kind. The search for clues soon stretches across borders, with the FBI, CIA, and French Intelligence trying to work together to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Struggling to find answers, a young lawyer is recruited to be the bait in an elaborate CIA operation.

My Opinion: From the start, I happily settled into that familiar Grisham groove: good pacing, clean writing, a little history tucked into the corners, and that slow‑burn sense that something bigger is humming underneath. And honestly, I thought I had him pegged this time. I had my own theory about what the “illusion” really meant, convinced it was an inside job. Then I started doing the math, and… yeah, no. I was very wrong.

That’s part of the fun with his books, though. He’s great at building a story under the story, pushing you toward one conclusion while quietly laying the groundwork for something else entirely. The history lessons are there, the political shadows are there, and every so often you get one of those lines that makes you wonder if he’s slipping in a covert warning about real‑world dangers we’re not fully aware of. Torture, Gitmo, government muddiness where none of it was subtle, and it’s hard not to wander into the familiar “Okay, how much of this is fiction and how much is the kind of truth that only shows up in fiction because it can’t show up anywhere else”?

As for the characters… I didn’t like any of them. Not one. But I’m pretty sure that was the purpose. They aren’t built to be liked; they’re built to carry information, to move the pieces on the board, to make you pay attention to the machinery rather than the people caught in it. And in that sense, they work.

Where the book stumbled for me was the ending. Compared to the rest of the novel, it felt rushed and a little too convenient. After all that buildup, I wanted something more dangerous and earned.

Still, even with the ending wobble, this is classic Grisham in the way that matters: a story that entertains on the surface while quietly asking bigger questions underneath. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m not. But that’s the thing with books like this: we each walk away with a different illusion shattered.

The Last Page Cafe

Title: The Last Page Cafe
Author: Kate Storey
Published: March 12, 2026 by Avon
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
Genre: Women's Fiction

Blurb: Sometimes the last page is just the beginning… At fifty-four, Erin McRae feels like she’s been living in the margins of her own story. Ever since she inherited her late mother’s café, The Bookmark, she’s been stuck in a comfortable routine. Her greatest escape is the mismatched book club she founded, bound together by one unusual they choose their next book based solely on the last page.

But when a book’s final words hit too close to home, Erin and her fellow members begin to see their own lives reflected in unexpected ways. As the club’s discussions grow deeper, long-buried secrets surface, old wounds start to heal, and romance leaps off the page. With The Bookmark under threat of closure, Erin must ask can she write herself a happier story?

A heartwarming novel about friendship, second chances, and the surprising ways stories shape our lives.

My Opinion: This novel has one of those vibes that makes you settle in with a warm mug of something, where found family is key, and where every chapter, every character moment, every slightly chaotic book club meeting has the kind of comfort chosen family can bring. And speaking of that book club, these folks read “the last page first” to decide whether a book is worth the effort. I mean, that is a bold choice. I’m not saying it would work for everyone, but I did have a moment of “Wait, we’re just doing that now?”

The narrative leans heavily on miscommunication, which is usually one of my least favorite tropes. But here, it’s woven into the characters’ insecurities and hopes rather than used as cheap drama. It still made me want to gently shake a few people, but in that affectionate “please talk to each other” way.

Then there’s the new guy in town, the one who waltzes in and shakes up the book club’s balance. Of course he becomes the love interest; that’s practically his job description. But what I appreciated is that he’s not the only person worth paying attention to. Every member of this club has their own backstory, dreams, and their own little emotional corners. It’s a full ensemble, not a spotlight on one romance.

Book lovers will enjoy all the literary references, from modern fiction to classics, tucked into conversations. And true to Kate Storey’s style, this is firmly in the women’s fiction lane with no cussing, I can recall, and absolutely no spice unless you count a kiss or a “they spent the night together” mention.

This is my second Kate Storey novel, with the first being ‘The Forgotten Book Club’, which I liked just a touch more, but this one still delivered that comforting, heartfelt reading experience she’s so good at. And with another book coming in early 2027, there’s plenty of time to catch up if you’ve missed any of her earlier books. I’ll be there, ready for more found‑family chaos and bookish charm.